1817 - Nicholas, J. L. Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand [Vol.I] - CHAPTER XIII

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CHAP. XIII.

A BREEZE springing up from the northwest on Saturday the 14th, and which would have prevented us from entering the harbour of Wangeroa, we resolved to alter our course, and steer back for the river Thames; thus affording Korra-korra the highest gratification,

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for he had an insuperable objection to visit George and his tribe, though he consented to accompany us. We therefore weighed anchor at ten A. M. and sailing close in with the shore, found ourselves at five P. M. off Cape Brett, the course from the Cavalles to this place being due east. Duaterra's people were a source of constant amusement to us the whole way; they indulged in play and merriment among each other with the most perfect good humour; and though in their trials of strength they frequently threw each other down, and brandished their patoo patoos, as if going to dash one another's brains out, still no accident occurred, and it never provoked any thing like a serious contest on either side. Eight of these warriors throwing off their mats, commenced singing and dancing; the appearance they made was singularly ludicrous, but too indecent for me to give a description of it in detail.

Korra-korra and his people sung a very plaintive dirge, composed, as he told me, to commemorate the tragical death of a man belonging to his tribe; who being killed by some people from the river Thames, had his bead taken off, and his body cut up into small pieces, and thus devoured. The notes

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of this air were marked in a peculiar degree with a tender melancholy, and it was not sung in parts, but by the whole of them together, in a low and mournful tone of voice.

Among the moral vices to which many of the New Zealanders are prone, may be reckoned the odious practice of lying, in which they too, frequently indulge; though, at the same time, it must be understood, that there are here persons capable of as much veracity as may be found in any other part of the world. Korra-korra told us a long story, which had not the least foundation in truth, about a design that he said was entertained of cutting off the ship while she was lying at the Cowa-cowa. According to this tale, it appears that he was informed by Warrakee, that Madu, a man living in the same district with Pomaree, was very much dissatisfied with the payment we had made him for his timber; and complained that the men employed in cutting it down, and bringing it to the ship, had received nothing for their trouble. Being quite indignant at such illiberal dealing on our part, he talked, as this story informed us, of surprising the vessel, and killing all the people on board; and would have carried his intention into effect

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on the day Mr. Marsden and myself were at Parro, but for the spirited interference of old Tarra, who declared that every vessel coming to his side of the Bay, should receive the fullest protection; and that his authority with the natives was much too powerful to be disputed. But Pomaree, he said, was the chief instigator to this meditated atrocity, and urged the other on to it by all the suggestions he could devise. The character of Pomaree might certainly give considerable sanction to the truth of this story; but Mr. Marsden, before he could lend his unqualified belief to it, inquired of Tui how far it was correct; when that candid young man freely declared, in his own favourite expression, that it was "all gammon," and that several of his countrymen were too much addicted to henerecka, i. e. to telling lies. The falsehood of these people is seldom of a harmless nature; and it appears to me that they practise it only for the sake of creating alarm by some unexpected tale of fearful import, and thus rendering others miserable, without any advantage to themselves; but more frequently to serve their own interested purposes.

At six o'clock on the morning of the 15th, having made but little way during the night.

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we found ourselves directly in front of a spot called by navigators the Poor Knights, and consisting of an island, with three rocks of a grotesque shape, ranged in a parallel line, at a short distance from it. At three P. M. we passed Bream Head, a remarkable promontory, having several pointed rocks on its summit, and to the northward of it a low piece of land with a fine sandy beach. The distance between this and the Poor Knights I estimated at about seven leagues. Bream Head lies in lat. 35 deg. 46" S. and forms the northern head of an extensive bay of the same name. At a little distance off the mouth of this bay is a cluster of small islands, called from some fanciful assimilation the Hen and Chickens. The course from Cape Brett to this bay, is S. S. E. and small vessels may keep in close to the shore the whole distance. Between nine and ten o'clock we were visited by a canoe from the shore, bringing a chief, who was a venerable old man, with three of his followers, and a woman whose curiosity induced her to accompany them. A rope was immediately thrown over to them, as soon as they came close enough; but just as the old man was ascending the side of the vessel with youthful agility, Duaterra and all

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his people, who were lying concealed, rushed forward with furious impetuosity, and setting up their horrid yells as before, presented the points of about a dozen spears at his breast, besides a great number of pistols and muskets; which so alarmed the poor man, that, unable to retain his hold, he fell back in his canoe, and very nearly upset it. In this posture he remained, staring wildly at our warriors, and hardly conscious whether he was dead or alive, till Korra-korra, who knew him very well, bade him dismiss his fears and come on board, which he did, after some hesitation, but in such a state of trembling terror, that he shook from head to foot; and it was with much difficulty I could persuade him to come and speak to Mr. Marsden in the cabin. He was a fine old man, and the chief of a district called Tudukackah, which lies along the coast opposite to the Poor Knights, and abounds with excellent timber. The other men came upon deck, and though much alarmed, soon recovered themselves, while nothing could release their chief from his dreadful apprehensions, and he stood palpitating the whole time under the effects of the shock he had received: his stay, however, was not long, for he appeared very

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happy to get away as soon as possible, and left us as though he would never again repeat his visit. The woman did not come on board, but staying in the canoe, regarded the panic of the others with perfect indifference, not seeming to be at all alarmed herself. As all this furious demonstration of our military guard, appeared to me not only unnecessary but extremely cruel towards this old man, I spoke to Duaterra respecting it, and told him he had nearly frightened the poor chief to death, and that he ought not to have done so to a man of his age, and one who was seemingly very inoffensive. But he gave me the same reason for it as before, and added, that the old man deserved very well to be frightened to death, repeating my words with pointed acrimony. Though the knowledge Duaterra had of the disposition of his countrymen must of course have been better founded than ours, still I cannot free myself from the idea, that in this instance, as in many others, he wished to enhance his own importance with the rest of the natives, and to awe them into a particular respect for his authority, by shewing them that he was entrusted with the protection of the vessel, which, as well as his close alliance with us, he would fain impress

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upon their minds by these terrifying manoeuvres.

All the ship's company were assembled by order of Mr. Marsden at ten in the morning, to attend divine service, and the warriors behaved during its celebration with perfect good order. At eleven, another canoe came alongside, with six young men in it, who received the same electric salute as the others; but three of them had been on board the vessel while she was lying at the Cowa-cowa, and now recognizing among our warriors some of their old friends, their alarm subsided the moment they discovered them; but the rest of their companions evinced on the occasion both fear and astonishment. In about three hours after, we saw two canoes coming from near Bream Head, when steering towards them, we observed in the largest of them, held up on the point of a spear, a piece of printed cotton that Mr. Marsden had sent as a present to the chief of Bream Bay, during the time we were lying at the Cowa-cowa. When these canoes came alongside, Duaterra did not neglect his warlike display, which making the people in their canoes rest upon their paddles, they regarded us for some time with fixed and thoughtful attention,

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apparently more expressive of surprise than alarm. These, when our warriors had ceased their din, shewed no dismay whatsoever; and they had brought off to us as much fish as served all our people. They told us that in getting round Bream Head, if we would fire off one of the great guns, their chief would come and visit us; this we did accordingly, but no canoe approached.

At eight P. M. we passed Point Rodney, which runs out in a low and narrow neck of land, forming the northern entrance to the river Thames; and across the extensive opening of this river lie the Barrier Isles, the most western one of which is called by the natives Shouthuroo, and the adjoining one Outhahah, on which, at that time, a considerable chief named Coreo, had his residence. These islets produced, as we were informed, an abundance of flax and timber.

Going upon deck on Monday the 16th at five A. M. I found that we had got to some distance up the river; on both sides of us we observed several small islands, lying close to the shore, and parallel with it all along. These, I should suppose, would afford most excellent shelter for shipping, the interjacent places being well secured

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against the weather. We sailed up this river, or bay, as it may more properly be termed, with the intention of entering the fresh-water stream; but when we had got within a league of its entrance, the wind blowing strong, and the water becoming shoaly, we deemed it prudent to proceed no further, and reverting our course, we stood down the bay. On each side of the entrance of the freshwater stream, we saw some large swampy tracts of land covered with pines, and continuing our retrograde course to some distance, we anchored in four fathoms water on a muddy bottom, about two miles from the western side, and eight from the entrance of the abovementioned stream. I should have observed, that while we were yet working up the bay, two canoes approached the ship, in one of which was Shoupah, the areekee of this part of the country. Apprehensive seemingly of our intentions, he kept for some time at a convenient distance, while Themorangha held a long discourse with him; and Korra-korra, by desire of Mr. Marsden, told Duaterra he had better omit his alarming salute on this occasion; but he replied, that he himself knew best what was proper to be done, and

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would not be dissuaded from what he thought necessary. He therefore brought all his people forward in the same manner as before; but their hostile manoeuvres did not last so long as in the former exhibitions, nor were they so astounding in their confusion.

When this turbulent ceremony was over, a further conference took place between Themorangha and Shoupah, in which the latter was probably assured of safety, and told he had nothing to apprehend. The result of this was, that the areekee, bringing his canoe alongside, he and his son, by whom he was accompanied, came upon deck with apparent confidence. This chief, who appeared about the same age with Tarra, was in his person the finest and most venerable looking old man I ever beheld; in stature he rose above the tallest of his countrymen; and his strength, though impaired by age, was yet extraordinary. In his countenance there was a thoughtful seriousness that bespoke him of a meditative cast of mind; and in his deportment a solemn gravity, which, even more than his high rank, served to distinguish him from all the others, while it involuntarily commanded that respect and veneration

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which it was impossible to withhold. Mr. Marsden made him and his son presents of printed cotton, plane irons, and fish-hooks; for which they gave him in return two very elegant mats of a curious texture. They soon forgot the formidable appearance of hostility presented to them at the commencement, and were much pleased with their reception on board. Their visit, however, was but short; and as they returned, they rowed to the other canoe, the people of which, from the seeming resistance we offered, were afraid to come alongside, and now returned back in company with their chief.

Shoupah, from what we could discover from our warriors, was by far the most considerable chief we had yet met with; his authority reaching from this place as far as Bream Bay, a great extent in such a country to be under the power of one individual. Contrary to the usual practice of the areekees, he always commanded his warriors in person, and was accounted, notwithstanding his advanced age, one of the bravest men in New Zealand; his name being formidable all over the northern part of the island. He was to proceed on the ensuing day with a large expedition to attack

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some tribes at the East Cape, and was joined by a considerable body of men from the western side, who came as auxiliaries, and whose canoes we saw lying on the beach. Duaterra informed us, that these auxiliaries were a warlike and ferocious race; and that it would be very unsafe for us to venture among them, as he had no doubt but that they would cut us all off without hesitation, their cruelty being proverbial in the country. They were formerly accustomed, he said, to make frequent incursions into Shoupah's territory, till at length the areekee found it necessary to form an alliance with them, by giving his daughter in marriage to their chief; ever since which time they remained faithful to his interest, and readily assisted him in carrying on his wars. Their patient endurance of labour and fatigue was astonishing. Their canoes they had brought over land, a distance of not less than fifty miles through a rugged and uneven country; and their mode of transporting them, Duaterra told us, was by dragging them with ropes upon rollers: and as they contained all their stock of provisions, which was a heavy load, this plan must have been as tedious as it was toilsome. The distance they had to

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paddle round to the East Cape, was at least a hundred miles; and their coming so far to attack a people, who in all probability had never done any act to provoke their resentment, and were obnoxious merely because they were capable of offering some resistance, shews to what lengths ambition is carried, even among savages, and what difficulties are cheerfully encountered from the desire of plunder and devastation. This truth has been exemplified in New Zealand at various intervals, no less than in Europe, which has been deluged in blood for the last five-and-twenty years; and the only difference between the memorable expedition that passed the Dnieper never to return, and the noteless horde that proceeded to the East Cape, is the number and attributes of the respective forces, the principle and motives being exactly the same.

On Tuesday the 17th, at seven A. M. we weighed anchor with the intention of sailing up to Shoupah's district, which lay on the western side of the bay; but the wind veering suddenly almost to every direction, and being attended at certain intervals with heavy squalls, we were unable to reach it, and kept tacking off and on the whole day.

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396 VOYAGE TO

Though the shelter for shipping is in some parts of this river as good as could be desired, there are others, however, that are very much exposed to the prevailing winds; and on this account, should the island be ever colonized, I should decidedly recommend the Bay of Islands in preference to it as a principal harbour; this being perfectly secure against the weather, and capable of containing ships to almost any number. Captain Cook was, however, of a contrary opinion, and suggested the river Thames as the most eligible haven; but so far as I can judge, it falls infinitely short of the one I have mentioned. The violence of the wind called forth the superstitious opinions of the natives, and they all declared that it was occasioned by Shoupah's god, who was nuee nuee careedee, (very much provoked) from some cause or other, and took this mode of venting his indignation. I asked Korra-korra whether the god was angry with us or with Shoupah; he replied, with Shoupah, and that when he got on shore he would persuade the areekee to propitiate the offended deity. He assured me at the same time, that the god of Tippoonah was not at all angry; and from this it would appear.

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that these people have their local and domestic gods, who may be aptly compared to the Roman lares.

At an early hour in the morning of the 18th, we had a canoe alongside with five men, one of whom was a chief named Phiti, a person of some consequence on the western side of the Bay; this man came upon deck without any hesitation, and Mr. Marsden gave him some seed wheat, the use of which, on its being explained to him, he appeared perfectly to comprehend. Leaving our new visitor on board, where he seemed quite delighted with every thing he beheld, Mr. Marsden and myself, attended by Gunnah and a few of our warriors, went on shore, and landed contiguous to a small village, the inhabitants welcoming us with the usual cry of haromai, haromai. As we were walking along the shore, we were met by some of the ladies, one of whom had a very elegant mat that she displayed for sale, and which Mr. Marsden purchased for some India print. This bargain encouraged another lady to go to her warree, or hut, and bring one that she had also to dispose of; and our friend Gunnah, who now commenced the business of a dealer, bought it of her without much

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difficulty. We had here an opportunity of observing how the natives transact the affairs of trade among each other. Gunnah's merchandize consisted of a number of the white feathers of the gannet, which are universally worn by both sexes in this country, but prepared exclusively in the Bay of Islands, whence they are carried into the other districts, and form a staple article of trade. These feathers are neatly dressed, and each of them has a small piece of wood tied round the quill end, which serves to stick in the hair.

Our humorous friend was now the magnet of attraction to all the ladies of the village, in consequence of his valuable and ornamental wares; and seating himself in the midst of the gay circle, he prepared to untie the box that enclosed the feathers, to gratify their impatient eyes. The sight at once filled the whole group with rapture; and taking some of the feathers out of the box, in which he had laid them with as much dexterity as if they had been packed up by the most experienced man-milliner in London; he stuck several of them in the heads of the surrounding ladies, who, when thus decorated, congratulated each other with extatic trans-

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ports, while they individually betrayed a ludicrous self-complacency. He then counted out twelve of the feathers, and laid them down with much gallantry at the feet of the young damsel who had the mat, giving her at the same time a large bunch of the down of the gannet, which is used as an ornament for the ear: upon receiving these she immediately gave him the mat in exchange, and Gunnah carefully tying up his box again, walked off to supply more customers. The ladies now commenced dancing and singing, which they kept up for some time much in the same style as we had witnessed in the Bay of Islands.

When this scene was over, we walked along the beach for about a mile, and came to the village of Shoupah. But here we had none to receive us, except a few women and children; the men having gone upon their expedition to the East Cape, and no individual being left behind who was capable of service. Among the women was the daughter-in-law of Shoupah, a young woman with a good figure and regular features, but who being now mourning for the death of her child, exhibited all over her body those hideous marks of sorrow, which according to

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the barbarous practice of the country, she had inflicted upon herself. She was literally covered from head to foot with gaping scars and clotted wounds, and it was impossible to observe the manner she had lacerated herself, without being agitated with the most painful sensations. She approached us with an air of assured security, and Mr. Marsden presenting her with a pair of scissars, told her he wished to purchase some fresh meat and potatoes, of which we now wanted a supply. She answered, there were no pigs that she could dispose of, except what were at a great distance up the country; and some being pointed out to her that we saw confined in an adjacent sty, she said, they did not belong to her, but to a man who lived in a distant part of the country, and that she was not at liberty to make any agreement about them. We were equally unsuccessful with regard to the potatoes, of which she told us she had none. This village was situated, like most of the others, at the foot of a hill, and on the summit was built the hippah, which, from its appearance, was very strongly fortified. I ascended the hill for the purpose of examining it, but a heavy shower of rain coming on, before I could

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reach the top, I was obliged to take shelter in a deserted hut until it was over, and then it was too late for me to proceed any further. On the side of the hill was a fine plantation of potatoes, cultivated with their usual neatness, and in the midst of it two very comfortable huts, with a singular building, probably intended for a store-house. This strange edifice was built in a circular form, with the roof projecting about three feet from the sides, and its appearance was altogether so grotesque and so very ill adapted to the tasteful enclosure in which it stood, that fancy pictured a resemblance equally singular; and transported, in my imagination, the tub of Diogenes into the midst of an English garden. At a little distance from this plantation, I perceived two others, so that I was certain, had the areekee himself been here, we might have been supplied with the potatoes at least, and probably with the pigs likewise.

Taking our leave of Shoupah's daughterin-law, who accompanied us for some distance along the shore, we saw Duaterra and Korra-korra proceeding to visit the chief who had been on board in the morning; and whom we now saw paddling on towards his

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village. We followed them along the beach for about three miles, when we saw a considerable body of the natives welcoming them with their customary acclamations, and waving their kackahows in the air. We did not come up with them before we reached the village, and here we were received in the most friendly manner by our late visitor, the chief Phiti, who introduced us to his head wife and his two brothers Cawow and Tickerpuhokah; and also to an old man who was elevated above the rest, upon a chair of state similar to that I have described belonging to Kangeroa at Wyemattee. This man was the father of the chief; he appeared of a very advanced age, his hair and beard were quite white, and his countenance venerable and pleasing. Duaterra and Korra-korra had brought with them some old iron, nails, and fish-hooks, for the purpose of bartering them with their countrymen for such commodities as they could supply; and were now busily engaged in purchasing mats. Gunnah produced his feathers, and again attracted the ladies round him; others in like manner shewed their different wares, while I began to purchase curiosities, and the whole scene had all the active bustle of a

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fair. Some of the most beautiful mats we had yet seen were now exhibited for sale; four of the ladies decorated with these, which were very large and richly ornamented, appeared to great advantage, being extremely handsome women, and not disfigured by any extraneous devices. On these mats they set a very high price, and would take nothing for them but axes, of which we had none to barter, so that our desire to obtain them could not be gratified. I offered them tokees and large fish-hooks, but they declined the exchange; and even our friend Gunnah's feathers were not of sufficient attraction. The common mats they parted with readily enough; but the dress ones were not to be bought, unless by articles that they considered of adequate intrinsic value.

The detestable trade in human flesh is carried on in this island; but when we consider that it has been suffered to exist so long in civilized Europe, and might still be the disgrace of Britain, had not a Wilberforce been found to proclaim its enormity, and break the fetters of an afflicted race, shall we wonder that cannibals should be insensible to its injustice, nor feel any compunction in making a traffic of that body which

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they would not hesitate to devour! Duaterra wanted to purchase a slave here, but they had only one to dispose of, and he considered him too young, being a boy only of twelve or fourteen years of age. I saw some of the women very laboriously employed in bringing fire-wood and fern-root; but whether they were slaves or not, I could not discover. One of them amused me a good deal by the air of indifference with which she viewed us, while she redoubled her application to her work, and scolded at a furious rate such of the crowd as interrupted her progress to the place where she deposited the fern-root. The curiosity of this industrious dame was not excited in the least degree by our presence; and she remained a solitary exception to the surprise we created in all the other women.

The dollars taken out of the unfortunate Boyd had made their way hither. I saw some of them suspended from the necks of the children; and in the village there was a large piece of iron that had belonged to that ship. The land about this village is level to some extent; and the inhabitants must be rather numerous, as we saw huts scattered all over it in every direction. We were not more successful here than at Shoupah's place, in

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procuring pigs, not being able to find any to purchase, though the natives pointed out to us where we might procure some; and with very little scruple told us we might carry them off without paying for them, advice which we thought proper to reject. We now left the village to return to the ship; and on our way along the shore, we saw a shed or out-house of extraordinary dimensions; not being less than from eighty to one hundred feet long, and built like a cart-shed, with a partition running through the middle of it. This building, according to the natives, was applied by them to no other purpose than to keep their pigs in; an immense sty, but without a single bristly inhabitant at this time.

We had not been long on board when we were surprised by a visit from the wives of the two chiefs, both very handsome women. As we were at dinner on their arrival, we invited them to partake of our fare, to which they readily agreed; feasting themselves on some rice and sugar-candy which we laid before them, and appearing highly delighted with the novelty of every thing they beheld. Their husbands, with their friends Tashinga, Waro, and Warratudee, who were all three rungateedas, and nine of their people, very

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soon followed these ladies, and remained with us until the ship weighed anchor. These people brought some articles to barter with; and I bought a mat of one of them that exceeded in elegance even those displayed by the four ladies, and was a finished specimen of their taste and ingenuity. This mat, which I afterwards gave to Mrs. Marsden, was of a peculiarly fine and glossy texture; and it had a deep border of various devices and different colours worked all round it, the style of which would, even to a Parisian belle, appear chaste and fashionable. The man from whom I purchased this gay article hesitated a long time before he would take what I offered him for it, a large tokee., but at length accepted the proposal. It will not be matter of surprise that the New Zealanders set a higher value upon these mats than upon any other articles they supply, when we consider the length of time that must be occupied in making one of them, and the ingenious elegance with which they are worked, Duaterra assured me that to complete a large-sized mat of this description would take at least from two to three years, This chief made several purchases of inferior mats before these people left the vessel;

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for which he gave some bits of old iron and other trifles in return.

The venders and purchasers having by this time concluded all their bargains, and nothing further remaining to be done in the way of traffic, the men went to dance on the quarter-deck; while the ladies, unconscious of their merry purpose, got into their canoe before them; from which, however, they were soon called back again by a resistless impulse to participate in their hilarity: and ascending the ship's side like a pair of rope-dancers, the moment they heard them stamping it away, they were instantly upon deck, and mingled in their festive tumult. As soon as this mirthful display was over, and they had all got into their canoes, Duaterra was determined to honour their departure by a repetition of the same scene that they had themselves exhibited, and mustered all his people together for this purpose. These commenced singing and dancing with the wildest ecstasy; while the others, resolving not to be outdone in courteous attention, returned the compliment by standing up in their canoes, and shouting out in full chorus till they could no longer see the ship.

We were now informed by Duaterra that

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our short intercourse with these people had inspired them with such favourable opinions respecting us, that we might in future reckon upon a firm and permanent friendship with them; though they were at first alarmed at our arrival, thinking that we came for no other purpose than to attack them as enemies, and carry off their property. They were, however, he said, most agreeably disappointed; and so well pleased did they appear with the chief himself, that they wished him to remove from the Bay of Islands, and fix his constant abode among them. But widely different from this statement was the account given of these natives by Themorangha, who distrusted their good faith so much, that during the whole time we were here, he did not once venture to go on shore. He described them to me as a treacherous and malignant race, who being perfect adepts in dissimulation, could speak to us with apparent friendship at the very moment that they would murder us all, and seize upon the ship, if an opportunity presented itself. Their friendship, he said, in place of being firm and permanent, as Duaterra represented it, was all henerecka (deceit,) and in no instance to be relied upon.

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Here I had two accounts quite opposite to each other, the one promising fidelity and attachment in our late visitors, the other proclaiming them both faithless and designing; so contradictory are these people in their reports of their countrymen.